Artist Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (Italian, August 30, 1727–March 3, 1804)
Title The Third Temptation of Jesus
Series A New Testament
Date 1786–1790
Medium Brown ink and wash over black chalk on paper
Dimensions Image: 18 5/16 × 14 5/16 in. (46.5 × 36.4 cm)
Support: 19 1/4 × 15 1/8 in. (48.9 × 38.4 cm)
Framed: 28 1/8 × 23 7/8 × 2 1/4 in. (71.4 × 60.6 × 5.7 cm)
Credit Line The Anthony Moravec Collection of Old Master Drawings, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
Accession Number 2010.115
About this Work
The son of the famous Venetian artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Domenico was also a noted draftsman. His graphic style, more earthbound and rooted in observation than his father’s, bears his distinctive trembling line quality. Domenico worked in serial narratives, including his New Testament cycle, numbering at least 320 sheets. This image is one of twelve drawings from this important series in Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art’s collection (Eskenazi Museum of Art 2010.111-.122). By combining narrative elements from a variety of literary sources with details of daily life, Domenico brought new life to these biblical stories.
Jesus’s third temptation according to Matthew, and the second according to Mark, involved Satan offering him dominion over the world. Domenico used opposing elements to emphasize good triumphing over evil. Jesus is light, Satan is dark; Jesus is ethereal, upright, and closer to heaven, Satan is bestial, crouching, and closer to the lower depths. Jesus is seen from the front, Satan from the back; Jesus points to the right, Satan to the left (the sinister side). Within this vignette of opposing characters, the image has the flavor of eighteenth-century sightseers enjoying a beautiful “prospect.”
